One million passengers travelled through London Southend in 2017, a record for the airport following huge growth over the past 12 months.

London Southend saw passenger numbers jump 25% year on year, with 1,095,914 people using the airport between January and December 2017.

Key reasons for the airport’s boost in popularity, bosses say, include an increasing awareness of the quick and hassle-free experience of travelling through London Southend. The terminal is just 5-mins from the train station (central London a mere 52-minute journey), and on arrival passengers experience virtually no queues, short walking distances and friendly service.

They say added to this, options of more than 30 domestic and European leisure and business destinations – some familiar, others new and exciting - via Stobart Air’s franchise with Flybe and easyJet, have lead to more people picking the airport that Which? has named ‘Best in London’ for five years in a row.

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Most popular destinations in 2017 included Rennes (France) and Amsterdam. Top predictions for summer 2018 include Croatia (with London Southend offering routes to Dubrovnik, Zadar and Pula), Czech Republic capital Prague and Malta.

Glyn Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Stobart Aviation, owners of London Southend Airport says: “Reaching over one million passengers is an important moment for us. 2017 saw us make important additions to the retail offering in the terminal as well as adding a significant number of new routes – with more still to come – some providing a time and cost-effective way for our passengers to connect to North America and Canada.

“In addition to new routes, passengers are also increasingly deciding ‘small is more beautiful’ and prefer the relaxed, simple, easy and speedy airport experience we can offer rather than the bigger airports - so we are looking forward to an even better 2018 at London Southend.”